Inevitable Catastrophe and Extravagant Promises

Published:PravdaNo. 58 and 59, May 29 and 30 (16 and 17), 1917.

      Published according to the text inPravda.Source:Lenin
	  Collected Works,

      Progress Publishers,1964,

      Moscow,Volume 24,

      pages424-430.Translated:Isaacs BernardTranscription\Markup:B. BagginsandD. WaltersPublic Domain:Lenin Internet Archive

      1999

      (2005).You may freely copy, distribute,
	display and perform this work; as well as make derivative and
	commercial works. Please credit “Marxists Internet
	Archive” as your source.

(ARTICLE ONE)

Theinevitable debacle, the catastrophe of unprecedented
      dimensions that is facing us is of such importance that we must
      dwell on this question again and again if we are to fully grasp
      its implications. In the last issue ofPravdawe saidthat theprogrammeof the
      Executive Committee of the Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’
      Deputies no longer differsin any wayfrom that of
      “terrible”
Bolshevism.[1]

Todaywe must point out that the programme of the MenshevikMinister
      Skobelevgoes evenfurtherthan Bolshevism. Here is
      the programme, as reported in the ministerial paper,Rech:

“TheMinister [Skobelev] declared that ’... the country’s
      economy is on the brink of disaster. We must intervene in all
      fields of economic life, as there is no money in the
      Treasury. We must improve the condition of the working masses,
      and to do that we must take the profits from the tills of the
      businessmen and bankers’.(Voicein the audience: ‘How?’)’Byruthless taxation of property,’ replied the Minister of
      Labour, Skobelev. ’It is a method known to the science of
      finance. The rate of taxation on the propertied classes must be
      increased to one hundred per cent of their profits.’(Voicein the audience: ’That means everything.’)‘Unfortunately,’declared Skobelev, ’many corporations have
      already distributed their dividends among the share holders, and
      we must therefore levy a progressive personal tax on the
      propertied classes. We will go even further, and, if the
      capitalists wish to preserve the bourgeois method of business,
      let them work without interest, so as not to lose their
      clients.... We must introduce compulsory labour service for the
      shareholders, bankers and factoryowners, who are in a rather
      slack mood because the incentive that formerly stimulated them
      to work is now lacking.... We must force the shareholders to
      submit to the state; they, too, must be subject to labour
      service.’”

“TheMinister [Skobelev] declared that ’... the country’s
      economy is on the brink of disaster. We must intervene in all
      fields of economic life, as there is no money in the
      Treasury. We must improve the condition of the working masses,
      and to do that we must take the profits from the tills of the
      businessmen and bankers’.(Voicein the audience: ‘How?’)’Byruthless taxation of property,’ replied the Minister of
      Labour, Skobelev. ’It is a method known to the science of
      finance. The rate of taxation on the propertied classes must be
      increased to one hundred per cent of their profits.’(Voicein the audience: ’That means everything.’)‘Unfortunately,’declared Skobelev, ’many corporations have
      already distributed their dividends among the share holders, and
      we must therefore levy a progressive personal tax on the
      propertied classes. We will go even further, and, if the
      capitalists wish to preserve the bourgeois method of business,
      let them work without interest, so as not to lose their
      clients.... We must introduce compulsory labour service for the
      shareholders, bankers and factoryowners, who are in a rather
      slack mood because the incentive that formerly stimulated them
      to work is now lacking.... We must force the shareholders to
      submit to the state; they, too, must be subject to labour
      service.’”

Weadvise the workers to read and reread this programme, to
      discuss it and go into the matter of its practicability.

Theimportant thing is the conditions necessary for its
      fulfilment, and the taking of immediate steps towards its
      fulfilment.

Thisprogramme in itself is an excellent one and coincides with
      the Bolshevik programme, except that in one particular it goes
      evenfurtherthan our programme, namely, it promises to
      take the profits from the tills of the bankers “to the extent of
      one hundred per cent”.

OurParty is much more moderate. Its resolution demands much
      less than this, namely, the mere establishment of control over
      the banks and the “gradual [just listen, the Bolsheviks are for
      gradualness!] introduction of a more just progressive tax on
      incomes and properties”.

OurParty is more moderate than Skobelev.

Skobelevdispenses immoderate, nay, extravagant promises,without understanding the conditions required for their
      practical realisation.

Thatis the crux of the matter.

Itisimpossiblenot only to realise Skobelev’s
      programme, but even to make any serious efforts towards its
      realisation, either arm in arm with ten ministers from the party
      of the landowners and capitalists, or with the bureaucratic,
      official-ridden machine to which the government of the
      capitalists (plus a few Mensheviks andNarodniks)
      is perforce limited.

Lesspromises, Citizen Skobelev, and more practicalness. Less
      rhetoric and more understanding as tohowto get down
      tobusiness.

Andget down to business we can and should immediately, without
      a day’s delay, if we are to save the country from an inevitable
      and terrible catastrophe. But the whole thing is that the “new”
      Provisional Governmentdoes not wantto get down to
      business; and even if it wanted to, itcould not, for
      it is fettered by a thousand chains which safeguard the
      interests of capital.

Wecan and should in a single day call upon the people to get
      down to business; we can and should in a single day issue a
      decreeimmediatelyconvening:

1)Councilsand congresses of bank employees, both of individual
         banks and on a national scale, to work out immediate
         practical measures for amalgamating all banks and banking
         houses into a single State Bank, and exercising precise
         control over all banking operations, the results of such
         control to be published forthwith;

2)Councilsand congresses of employees of all syndicates and
         trusts to work out measures for control and accountancy; the
         results of such control to be published forthwith;

3)Thisdecree should grant the right of control not only to the
         Soviets of Workers’, Soldiers’, and Peasants’ Deputies, but
         also to councils of the workers at every large factory, as
         well as to the representatives of every large political party
         (those parties should be regarded as large parties which, for
         example, on May 12 put forward independent lists of
         candidates in not less than two Petrograd districts); all
         ledgers and documents to he open to control;

4)Thedecree should call upon all shareholders, directors and
         members of the boards of all companies to publish the names
         of all shareholders owning stock to an amount of not less
         than 10,000 (or 5,000) rubles, together with a list of stocks
         and companies in which these persons are “interested”; false
         statements (made to the controlling bodies of the bank and
         other employees) shall be punished by confiscation of all
         property and by imprisonment for a term of not less than five
         years;

5)Thedecree should call upon the people to establish
         immediately, through the local organs of self-government,
         universal labour service, for the control and enforcement of
         which a universal people’s militia should be established (in
         the rural districts directly, in the cities through the
         workers’ militia).

Withoutuniversal labour service, the countrycannot be
      savedfrom ruin; and without a people’s militia, universal
      labour service cannot be effected. This will be obvious to
      everyone who has not reached a state of ministerial insanity or
      has not had his brain turned by putting too much trust in
      ministerial eloquence.

Everyperson isboundto stand for such measures if he
      really wishes to save tens of millions from ruin and disaster.

Inthe next article we shall deal with the question of the
      gradual introduction of a more equitable system of taxation, and
      also what should be done to advance from among the people and
      gradually place in ministerial positions really gifted
      organisers (both from among the workers and the capitalists) who
      have given a good account of themselves in this kind of work.

(ARTICLE TWO)

WhenSkobelev, with ministerialélan,[style and vigour]talked himself into
      taking one hundred per cent of the capitalists’ profits, he
      furnished us with a specimen ofclaptrap.

This kind of phrase-mongering is
      always used in bourgeois parliamentary republics to hoodwink the
      people.

Buthere we have something worse than mere phrase-mongering. “If
      the capitalists wish to preserve the bourgeois method of
      business, let them work without interest, so as not to lose
      their clients,” Skobelev said. This sounds like a “terrible”
      threat to the capitalists; but in fact, it is an attempt
      (unconscious probably on the part of Skobelev, but certainly
      conscious on the part of the capitalists) tomake safe the
      ruleof almighty capital by a temporary sacrifice of
      profits.

Theworkers are taking “too much”, say the capitalists; let us
      make them responsible without giving them either power or the
      opportunity to effectively control production. Let us sacrifice
      our profits for a time; “by preserving the bourgeois method of
      business and not losing our clients”, we shall hasten the
      collapse of this transitory stage in industry, we shall
      disorganise it in every possible way and lay the blame on the
      workers.

Thatsuch is the plan of the capitalists is proved by the
      facts. The coal mine owners in the South are actually
      disorganising production, are “deliberately, neglecting and
      disorganising it” (seeNovaya Zhiznfor May 16
      reporting statements made by aworkers
delegation[2]). The picture
      is clear:Rechis lying brazenly when it puts the blame
      on the workers, The coal mine owners are “deliberately
      disorganisingproduction”; and Skobelev sings his song: “If the
      capitalists wish to preserve the bourgeois method of business,
      let them work without interest.” The position is clear.

Itis to theadvantageof the capitalists and the
      bureaucrats to make “extravagant promises”, diverting people’s
      attention away from themain thing, namely, the
      transfer of real control to the workers.

Theworkers must sweep aside all high-sounding phrases,
      promises, declarations, project-mongering by bureaucrats in the
      centre, who are ever ready to draw up spectacular plans, rules,
      regulations, and standards. Down with all this lying! Down with
      all this hullabaloo of bureaucratic and bourgeois
      project-mongering which has everywhere ended in smoke. Down with
      this habit of shelving things! The workers must demand theimmediateestablishment ofgenuinecontrol, to
      be exercised by theworkers themselves.

Thatis the most important condition of success, success in
      averting catastrophe. If that is lacking, all else is sheer
      deception. If we have it, we need not be in a hurry to “take one
      hundred per cent of the profits”. We can and should be more
      moderate; we shouldgraduallyintroduce a more
      equitable system of taxation; we shall differentiate between the
      small and large shareholders; we shall takevery littlefrom the former, and a great deal (butnotnecessarily
      all) from the latteronly.The number of large
      shareholders is insignificant; but the role they play, like the
      wealth they possess, istremendous.It may safely be
      said that if one were to draw up a list of the fiveor even
      three thousand(or perhaps even one thousand) of Russia’s
      wealthiest men, or if one were to trace (by means of control
      exercised frombelow, by bank. syndicate, and other
      employees) all the threads and ties of their finance capital,
      their banking connections, there would be revealed the whole
      complexus of capitalist domination, the vast body of wealth
      amassed at the expense of the labour of others, all the
      essential roots of “control” over the social production and
      distribution of goods.

Itisthiscontrol that must be handed over to the
      workers. It is this complexity, these roots, that the interests
      of capital require to be concealed from the people. Better
      forego for a time “all” our profits, or ninety-nine per cent of
      our income, than disclose to the people these roots of our
      power—thusreason the capitalist class and its unconscious
      servant, the government official.

Underno circumstances shallwerelinquish our right,
      our demand that this citadel of finance capital be disclosed to
      the people, that it be placed under workers’ control—thus
      reasons the class-conscious worker. And every passing day will
      prove the correctness of this reasoning to growing masses of the
      poor, to a growing majority of the people, to a growing number
      of sincere people who are honestly seeking a way to avert
      disaster.

Thiscitadel of finance capital has to be taken if all those
      phrases and projects for averting disaster are not to remain
      sheer deception. As far as individual capitalists, or even most
      of the capitalists, are concerned, the proletariat has no
      intention of “taking their last shirt from them” (as Shulgin has
      been “scaring” himself and his friends), has no intention of
      taking “everything” from them. On the contrary, it intends to
      put them on useful and honourable jobs—under the control of
      the workers.

Themost useful and indispensable job for the people at this
      moment of impending catastrophe is that oforganisation.Marvels of proletarian
      organisation—that is our slogan now, and will become our
      slogan and our demand doubly so when the proletariat is in
      power. Without the organisation of the masses it will be
      absolutely impossible either to introduce universal labour
      service, which is absolutely essential, or establish any at all
      serious control over the banks and syndicates and over the
      production and distribution of goods.

Thatis why it is necessary to begin, and begin immediately,
      with a workers’ militia, in order that we may proceed gradually,
      but firmly and intelligently, to the creation of a people’s
      militia and the replacement of the police and the standing army
      by the universally armed people. That is why it is necessary to
      advance talented organisers from amongallsections of
      society, from amongallclasses, not excepting the
      capitalists, whoat presenthave more of the required
      experience. There are many such talents among the people. Such
      forces lie dormant among the peasantry and the proletariat for
      lack of application. They must be advanced from below in the
      course of practical work, such as the efficientelimination of
      queues in a given district, skilful organisation of house
      committees, domestic servants, and model farms, proper
      management of factories that have been taken over by the
      workers, and so on and so forth. When these have been advanced
      from below in the course of practical work, and their abilities
      tested in practice, they should all be promoted to
      “ministers”—not in the old sense of the term, not in the
      sense of giving them portfolios, but by appointing them national
      instructors, travelling organisers, assistants in the business
      of establishingeverywherethe strictest order, the
      greatest economy in human labour, the strictest comradely
      discipline.

Thatis what the party of the proletariat must preach to the
      people as the means of averting disaster. That is what it must
      start carrying out now in part in those localities where it is
      gaining power. That is what it must carry out in full when it
      assumes state power.

[1][PLACEHOLDER.]—Lenin

[2]Thisrefers to statements made by a delegation of Donet workers
      to the Economic Department of the Petrograd Soviet. This
      delegation was sent to Petrograd by the April-May conference
      (1917) of workers of the coal and iron and steel industries in
      the south of Russia to ask the Ministry of Commerce and Industry
      and the Ministry of Labour to intercede in obtaining a rise for
      the lower-paid brackets from the association of Donets
      capitalists.

Thedelegation submitted statements describing the intolerable
      conditions of the workers and gave numerous instances of
      sabotage on the part of the owners and mangers of thecollieries and metallurgical works, who were out to crush the
revolutionary-minded workers and starve them into submission.